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Deposition and characterization of spin-coated n-type ZnO thin film for potential window layer of solar cell

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Abstract

Spin-coating technique has been utilized to deposit ZnO thin films on ITO substrates. The dependence of the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the prepared films on both the sol–pH values and annealing temperatures has been investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis has revealed that the optimal sol–pH value was found to be 8 at annealing temperature 450 °C. At these conditions, the optical transmission and reflection data have also shown a clear enhancement in both the morphology and the grain size of the films. In addition, the analysis of I–V and C–V measurements of the Schottky Au/ZnO diode has shown a high agreement with both the investigated structural and optical properties. Furthermore, a new empirical method based on the calculated electrical parameters in the context of both the thermionic emission and Mott–Schottky models has been proposed to evaluate the approximate value of the electron effective mass in the conduction band of the ZnO (m* = 0.224 mo).

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Acknowledgements

This work was financed by the “Qassim University”, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Project No. 2918.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Physics and Energy Laboratory, College of Sciences and Art at ArRass -Qassim University, Ar Rass, 51921, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    S. Hamrouni, M. S. AlKhalifah, M. S. El-Bana & S. Belgacem

  2. Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l’Energie, Technopole de Borj-Cédria, BP 95, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

    S. Hamrouni

  3. Nano-Science and Semiconductor Laboratories, Department of Physics, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

    M. S. El-Bana

  4. Department of Physics, College of Sciences at Al-Zulfi, Majmaah University, Zulfi, 11932, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    S. K. Zobaidi

  5. Unité de Physique des Dispositifs à Semi-Conducteurs, Tunis El Manar University, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    S. Belgacem

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  1. S. Hamrouni
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  2. M. S. AlKhalifah
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  3. M. S. El-Bana
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  4. S. K. Zobaidi
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Correspondence to M. S. El-Bana or S. Belgacem.

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Hamrouni, S., AlKhalifah, M.S., El-Bana, M.S. et al. Deposition and characterization of spin-coated n-type ZnO thin film for potential window layer of solar cell. Appl. Phys. A 124, 555 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-018-1980-z

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